


Hunting Down Cannibals

by gawryinthecorner



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Gore, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Human Experimentation, Mental Health Issues, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-19 06:54:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5957875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gawryinthecorner/pseuds/gawryinthecorner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cerberus proves itself to be capable of cultivating the notion of harvesting organics even without the existence of the Reapers. A disillusioned Miranda Lawson decides humanity can do without the organization. But she cannot battle the increasingly infamous enemy alone – allies are mandatory. And the list of potential members includes a dishonored and forgotten human commander…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hunting Down Cannibals

The array of monitors and holographic keyboards was the only thing illuminating her soon-to-be-deserted office. Miranda Lawson glanced at the time written on the right corner of the monitor, calculating the amount of time she had left, her fingers never once stopping as they moved furiously over the glowing keys.

It was a risk making this last arrangement; she didn’t enjoy the possibility of getting caught even before she had left. But as she had told Jacob, it had to be done. While not being completely fool-proof, the simulation program meant to train Cerberus operatives on dealing with sudden crises was modified enough to convince the other divisions that the reports of escaped experiments in a distant lab were real. They would eventually figure out the truth, but with luck, the program would buy them a few days’ time as Miranda and the others escaped the facilities under the cover of attempting to contain the situation.

After all, a diversion was nothing less than mandatory if one of the top operatives, her top lieutenant, and a handful of assistants and scientists were planning to leave the organization with the intent of destroying it.

The upload was almost complete. Miranda’s relentless typing came to a halt as she watched the monitors. A moment full of whirring systems and the pale glow of the monitors passed as the woman stood, motionless, waiting; then, there was a long, high-pitched beep.

The woman turned and walked away, the corners of her mouth curled in the slightest of smiles. 

* * *

 

“If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve been getting worried by now.” Jacob muttered as Miranda stepped into the shuttle. There was a low hum as the shuttle whirred to life; Jacob thought he could almost hear the shuttle pilot’s sigh of relief as the vehicle slowly rose into the air, then lurched into motion. Both the driver and the passenger knew exactly how much risk they were taking by delaying their departure.

Miranda raised an eyebrow. “Worried I wasn’t going to be able to figure it out? That simulation _was_ originally designed under my supervision.”

“I know. It’s just that it’s almost been an hour since the others’ shuttles left. We need to reach them in time…”

“Which would be pointless if there’s nothing set up to explain their absence – or anything else to slow the Illusive Man down.” She fixed her gaze on him; her eyes were clear and cold, much like her voice. “It’s not just a matter of getting away from here safely. It’s a matter of how much we’ll be able to delay his investing everything he has in tracking us down.”

There was a pause, then Jacob’s gaze dropped to the floor of the rumbling shuttle. “Yeah. You’re right.” For the umpteenth time since he had decided to do this, he wished that things were not the way they were. Of course, staying at Cerberus was out of the question considering recent events; after the things he had witnessed, he was willing to risk anything necessary to bring the organization down.

It was just that a part of him wished doctor Brynn Cole hadn’t come to the same conclusion when it came to the “risk anything necessary” part. Of course, her willingness to do what was right was one of the main reasons that drew him to her. And yet… he didn’t really want to think about what the worst outcome of their mutual mission could be. He didn’t want to remind himself how likely that outcome was, either.

His eyes went back to Miranda as she spoke again. The hard edge in her expression seemed to have lessened somewhat; Jacob wondered if she knew he had been thinking about Brynn. “The _Jezero_ would be leaving Noveria port to meet us by now. If all goes to plan, they’ll soon pick us up.”

“ETA to _Jezero_ about twenty minutes, Ma’am.” The pilot said helpfully.

Jacob’s hands tightened in his lap. His eyes went to the window of the shuttle, even though he knew fully well the stolen Cerberus frigate would be nowhere near enough to be in sight. “Good. That’s good.”

There was a moment of silence before Jacob spoke again, his eyes back on Miranda. “I’m glad that it’s you who decided to do this. It seems… right.”

“Of course.” Miranda replied, calm as ever. “It’s going to be impossible to make this mission a success without intel reserved for top agents. _Former_ top agents.”

The man shook his head. “You know what I mean. Even with what you saw – what you and I saw – I wouldn’t have thought you’d choose to do this. But I’m glad you did. I don’t like leaders wasting the people they have, wasting what they can do.”

Miranda’s eyes narrowed. She could still remember what had happened two weeks ago, the details as fresh as ever.

Her standing rooted to the spot as they stirred and gurgled beyond the glass of the containment cell. The modified things. The passive things. The things that stared and wheezed, waiting for the command to come and give them a purpose.

She had spoken to them in the preceding weeks. Had been impressed by how much they understood when it came to the complicated terms and theories concerning the project. Had appreciated their absolute resolve to do what would improve and strengthen humanity as a whole.

Oh, how revoltingly similar those modified puppets seemed to those intellectuals eager to prove what they could do.

Her gaze went to the window of the shuttle, seeking the direction of the facilities that were now well behind them. “In that case, I suppose they will be given a chance to learn the lesson about wasting their resources.”

Her heart stiffened as a snide voice seemed to speak in her mind: _Much like you are learning right now._  

* * *

 

“I’m glad that you’ve reached us.” Kelly Chamber’s relief was palpable as she gave a shaky smile. “What you can do, Officer Lawson, it’s incredible. I’m just… I’m glad that there was no trouble.”

Miranda merely tilted her head at the compliment. “I’m sure that the modified simulation will do its job, but I’m also sure there will be a lot more opportunities for trouble.” She turned away from the other woman, addressing one of the technicians that were busily studying a number of diagrams on one of the consoles of the CIC. “We can’t stay around in the Horsehead Nebula. Is the _Jezero_ ready for long journey? There’s a good chance we’ll need to dive in and out of star systems to shake off anyone following.”

The technician immediately abandoned his task, his full attention on his superior officer as his arms snapped to his sides. Granted, seeing as neither he nor Miranda was part of Cerberus anymore, there was no reason for formalities, but he expected Miranda to be treated as the leader of this mission – and it seemed that Miranda did, too. “All hands and systems ready for long-distance FTL travels and possible evasive maneuvers, ma’am. Just give the word when you’re ready. The UT-47 Kodiak should’ve finished refueling by now, and we’ve given the M35 Mako an extensive examination after we intercepted the _Jezero._ No concerns to report regarding both vehicles.”

“Excellent.” Miranda glanced at the Galaxy Map. “Set a course for Omega. We’ll need to start with a genetics expert.”

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of this will be me exploring concepts and characters I found intriguing in the game series. Tags for additional characters and plot content might be added on the way.  
> There are no Reapers in this universe. The Illusive Man makes decisions that his former employees find despicable, but as far as he’s concerned, his actions are based on sound logic. And it happens that a good number of people agree with him, too.  
> I would dearly love to have a beta reader. If anyone is interested, please contact me via my writing blog, gawryinthecorner.tumblr.com.


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